Tips for how to create best photo using 60mp of Leica M11

[TENTMAKERSMINISTRY]

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 I have ordered M11 from B & H.  But I am  waiting for delivery, hopefully soon.

After reading many discussions about M 11,  I am a bit concerned whether 60mp feature can be of much good for me.  I am an amateur without extensive knowledge or skills but love photography.

I would like to have advice as to how to maximize the 60 mp feature, especially for portrait and street photography.

 

 

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[Steve Ash]

vor 14 Minuten schrieb TENTMAKERSMINISTRY:

 I have ordered M11 from B & H.  But I am  waiting for delivery, hopefully soon.

After reading many discussions about M 11,  I am a bit concerned whether 60mp feature can be of much good for me.  I am an amateur without extensive knowledge or skills but love photography.

I would like to have advice as to how to maximize the 60 mp feature, especially for portrait and street photography.

 

 

My suggestion is to print big. That is what the many mp are good for.

Other than that I take your time, play around with the camera. It will be fine. 

[jaapv]

As said,  if you don’t print huge or use a large 4K or 5K screen you are bound not to see much difference if any to a 24 MP -or even lesser- photograph. 

[wizard]

vor 9 Stunden schrieb TENTMAKERSMINISTRY:

 I am a bit concerned whether 60mp feature can be of much good for me.

The M11 is like a car with lots of horsepower. You will usually not be able to exploit all those horsepower in daily use, but the power is there if needed. Moreover, the M11 offers the possibility to take photographs in 36MP and 18MP modes, too, while still using the entire sensor area. You will soon find out which mode is best suited for your own work.

[vikasmg]

9 hours ago, TENTMAKERSMINISTRY said:

 I have ordered M11 from B & H.  But I am  waiting for delivery, hopefully soon.

After reading many discussions about M 11,  I am a bit concerned whether 60mp feature can be of much good for me.  I am an amateur without extensive knowledge or skills but love photography.

I would like to have advice as to how to maximize the 60 mp feature, especially for portrait and street photography.

 

 

Even if you don’t print very large prints as other above has suggested, one big advantage of the additional pixels is that it gives you the ability to crop and/or reframe to a smaller size and still have a very good resolution photograph.  

With the M11 you could probably reduce a lens you would otherwise carry around.  I find that if I have a 35mm lens mounted I tend to leave my 50mm home with no regrets.  My 135mm is now very seldom used since a compact 90mm gives me a fairly tight frame from which I can crop out a lot and still have a very high pixel image.

[LBJ2]

10 hours ago, TENTMAKERSMINISTRY said:

 I have ordered M11 from B & H.  But I am  waiting for delivery, hopefully soon.

After reading many discussions about M 11,  I am a bit concerned whether 60mp feature can be of much good for me.  I am an amateur without extensive knowledge or skills but love photography.

I would like to have advice as to how to maximize the 60 mp feature, especially for portrait and street photography.

 

 

Not to worry. The M11 is overall a splendid rangefinder camera. If you feel 60MPs is too much for you then shoot in 36MP or 18MP mode without any penalty to image quality. If and when you are ready to experiment with 60MPs you have that option too. 

Others have already answered your question about the benefits of 60MP for printing, but in today's digital world where few images actually make it to the printer, vikasmg's response above is also spot-on and pretty amazing once you experience it for the first few times yourself. 

Edited March 23, 2022 by LBJ2

[wizard]

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vor 3 Stunden schrieb vikasmg:

 My 135mm is now very seldom used since a compact 90mm gives me a fairly tight frame from which I can crop out a lot and still have a very high pixel image.

Expanding on that, if you DO use a 135mm with the M11, this would allow you to crop out the image to emulate, say, a 180mm lens, thus extending the range of lenses available for M cameras to include a "virtual" 180mm lens!

[Tailwagger]

For 

9 hours ago, wizard said:

Expanding on that, if you DO use a 135mm with the M11, this would allow you to crop out the image to emulate, say, a 180mm lens,

Actually with a good clean shot and a bit of software help in the form of scaling from PS or Topaz, one can go far, far beyond a 180mm equivalent even with a 90mm lens.  Here's a rather extreme example I did the other day.

Original unprocessed shot taken with a 30 year old 90mm Elmarit at 60 MPx ISO 64 F2.8 1/1250":

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Final result after crop, processing and scaling back to 18 Mpx:

Dunno about anyone else and certainly not something I wind up doing often, but I find this sort of result rather astonishing given its a tiny portion of the frame that could easily be printed at A3, B+ or larger. 

[wizard]

vor 8 Stunden schrieb Tailwagger:

but I find this sort of result rather astonishing

So do I. It also shows that a 30 year old Elmarit 90mm is no slouch either, providing lots of detail even at this kind of magnification.

[Tailwagger]

1 hour ago, wizard said:

So do I. It also shows that a 30 year old Elmarit 90mm is no slouch either, providing lots of detail even at this kind of magnification.

My personal theory around why I prefer the M11 over the 10-R for my Mandlers is that the new sensor seems somehow more transparent, if you will. The 10-R seemed to up the contrast of these lens, particularly in stronger light such as the above, whereas the 11 seems to be more neutral in this regard. As such I find the fall off, particularly when wide open as was the case here, seems smoother and more natural. Where these lenses went flat on the 10-R, they've got their 3D mojo back.  Where I had lost my confidence in these earlier lenses... I mentioned several times in previous posts that I wanted the 10 and 240 back that I sold for the 10-R due to this... the M11 has restored my faith. 

Could be delusional, of course, particularly after being influenced by articles explaining the generic advantages of BSI over FSI. I'm sure some folks will insist its all in my head, but in the end it really doesn't matter. My Mandler triumvirate, the 28 Elmarit, 75 lux and 90 Elmarit are solidly back in the rotation, whereas for the past year and a half they were sidelined, only coming out on occasion mounted on the SL2, 28 excepted for its poor edge performance. 

Edited March 24, 2022 by Tailwagger

[wizard]

vor 9 Minuten schrieb Tailwagger:

and 90 Elmarit are solidly back in the rotation

Is your Elmarit lens the Elmarit-M 2.8/90 lens Leica discontinued only a few years ago? I do recall that this lens was produced for quite some time, but I am not sure whether early samples of that lens are already 30 years and over.

[Gobert]

On 3/23/2022 at 12:11 PM, wizard said:

The M11 is like a car with lots of horsepower. You will usually not be able to exploit all those horsepower in daily use, but the power is there if needed. Moreover, the M11 offers the possibility to take photographs in 36MP and 18MP modes, too, while still using the entire sensor area. You will soon find out which mode is best suited for your own work.

This is a bad comparison as such cars are mostly owned by man who are having their midlife crisis.

[wizard]

vor 11 Minuten schrieb Gobert:

This is a bad comparison as such cars are mostly owned by man who are having their midlife crisis.

That will likely be true for most M11 owners, too 🙂.

BTW, I am past midlife crisis age (never had any midlife crisis actually, probably prevented by too much work) and I do not own any car with too many horsepower either, so I trust I am allowed to make that comparison.

[idusidusi]

10 hours ago, Tailwagger said:

For 

Actually with a good clean shot and a bit of software help in the form of scaling from PS or Topaz, one can go far, far beyond a 180mm equivalent even with a 90mm lens.  Here's a rather extreme example I did the other day.

Original unprocessed shot taken with a 30 year old 90mm Elmarit at 60 MPx ISO 64 F2.8 1/1250":

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Final result after crop, processing and scaling back to 18 Mpx:

Dunno about anyone else and certainly not something I wind up doing often, but I find this sort of result rather astonishing given its a tiny portion of the frame that could easily be printed at A3, B+ or larger. 

That is pretty damn good and as you say a very small part of the original image! I find also the 'Gimp' does a pretty good upscaling whilst keeping image quality. 

[250swb]

Just set everything to 'Auto'.

[Tailwagger]

43 minutes ago, wizard said:

Is your Elmarit lens the Elmarit-M 2.8/90 lens Leica discontinued only a few years ago? I do recall that this lens was produced for quite some time, but I am not sure whether early samples of that lens are already 30 years and over.

Over that, actually. My copy is from 1995, but the lens dates from 1990 at least per Rockwell. 

Edited March 24, 2022 by Tailwagger

[jaapv]

13 hours ago, Tailwagger said:

For 

Actually with a good clean shot and a bit of software help in the form of scaling from PS or Topaz, one can go far, far beyond a 180mm equivalent even with a 90mm lens.  Here's a rather extreme example I did the other day.

Original unprocessed shot taken with a 30 year old 90mm Elmarit at 60 MPx ISO 64 F2.8 1/1250":

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Final result after crop, processing and scaling back to 18 Mpx:

Dunno about anyone else and certainly not something I wind up doing often, but I find this sort of result rather astonishing given its a tiny portion of the frame that could easily be printed at A3, B+ or larger. 

But you need pretty good technique to avoid motion blur at such extreme crops. 

[Tailwagger]

12 minutes ago, jaapv said:

But you need pretty good technique to avoid motion blur at such extreme crops. 

While my technique is decent, this case certainly demonstrates the value of elevated shutter speed.  But certainly, as is so often the case, the added capability does nothing for you unless you embrace the potential it provides and learn over time how to make the most of it. 

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[vikasmg]

On 3/23/2022 at 11:08 AM, wizard said:

Expanding on that, if you DO use a 135mm with the M11, this would allow you to crop out the image to emulate, say, a 180mm lens, thus extending the range of lenses available for M cameras to include a "virtual" 180mm lens!

Yes :-).  Who would have thought - almost 200mm on an M rangefinder!

[FlashGordonPhotography]

On 3/23/2022 at 1:02 PM, TENTMAKERSMINISTRY said:

 I have ordered M11 from B & H.  But I am  waiting for delivery, hopefully soon.

After reading many discussions about M 11,  I am a bit concerned whether 60mp feature can be of much good for me.  I am an amateur without extensive knowledge or skills but love photography.

I would like to have advice as to how to maximize the 60 mp feature, especially for portrait and street photography.

 

 

Have you used a rangefinder before?

Short of using a tripod (nothing wrong with that. I do it all the time.) you just need to learn good handholding technique and practice.

1. Get a Thumbie. They're on eBay (seller Steve Bennett). It'll help you hold the camera steady and doesn't block the hot shoe. A grip also works but is bigger.

2. Practice your focusing and handholding. The M is a camera that rewards practice and technique. Using an M is a skill you learn not a gift.

3. Focus from one direction. Return the focus to your start point after each shot. I use infinity. In the long run it will make you faster at manual focusing and more accurate.

4. Shoot at the end of your breath. For me it's when I have breathed out that I'm most still.

5. It's a small camera but it's still support with the left hand and shoot with the right, like any other camera. Feet spread and elbows in.

6. Look for walls, pole or anything to lean the camera or your self on.

8. Learn zone focusing. Lots of M shooters use it as their main technique as it's an incredibly quick way to shoot.

9. Embrace the blur. The M will teach you not all great photos are pin sharp.

10. You need less lenses than you think. Ideally start with one that is where you *see* (often 35 or 50mm) and shoot with that for a while. Then expand to maybe 3 or 4 lenses.

11. Longer than 75mm is where your technique will be pushed hardest.

12. Manual is fun but don't be affraid to shoot in Aperture priority while you are learning.

13. Be kind to yourself. Don't expect Pulitzer prize winners on day one. The more you shoot the better you get.

14. Save the 60MP for when you need it. Big prints or when you need to crop beyond your longest lens. The 18MP setting will still give you a3+ prints and fill a 5K monitor.

15. Try Auto ISO and start with your camera set to 2 times the focal length. Adjust from there if you are more or less steady handholding.

Enjoy your new camera.

Gordon

Edited March 24, 2022 by FlashGordonPhotography